In early 2007, a Section 319 grant was awarded by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency partially funding an update to the Aux Sable Creek watershed plan. The Conservation Foundation, in partnership with the Aux Sable Creek Watershed Coalition, secured this grant in order to facilitate an update to the original watershed plan.

This project is a collaborative effort to update the Aux Sable Creek watershed plan. An advisory committee has been formed with representatives from many areas. Over 50 representatives were invited to participate on the committee, of which one-third are landowners in the watershed. Click here for a list of those invited to participate on the committee. Many of these representatives have been active in watershed activities in the past. Other agencies represented on include the Kendall & Grundy County Farm Bureaus and the Kendall and Grundy Soil & Water Conservation Districts – each of these are organizations of area residents as well. Together, we are working to accomplish the purpose of Illinois EPA’s 319 program: to work cooperatively with units of local government and other organizations toward the mutual goal of protecting water quality in Illinois through the control of nonpoint source pollution. For more information about the components of this project, click here. As with most grant project, funding is anticipated from a variety of sources. Click here to learn more about how this project is funded.

Since July 2007, the advisory committee has met thirteen times (almost monthly) working on an updated watershed plan that focuses on nonpoint source pollution. Click here for a schedule of meetings and copies of materials from those meetings. Although these meetings are not subject to any open meeting laws, the schedule and location is made public and the public is welcome to attend. Now that a draft plan is complete, we are working with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to schedule a public information meeting, to ensure the work of the advisory committee (facilitated by The Conservation Foundation) is appropriate to the challenges and opportunities of the watershed. Stay tuned for more information about that meeting. In the meantime, the plan is available on the Aux Sable Creek Watershed Plan 2008 page of this site and in printed form at the Channahon, Minooka, Morris, Oswego, and Yorkville libraries.